Hon. R. B. HANSON (Leader of the Opposition):

May I ask the Minister of Labour when it is anticipated that appointments will be made to positions on the national war labour board?

Hon. N. A. McLARTY (Minister of Labour):

It is anticipated that these appointments will be made almost immediately. May I explain that any delay in the appointments is not due to any action of the government. The recommendations have to come from the national labour supply council, and practically all the representatives of labour on that council and a great many representatives of the manufacturers have been attending the International Labour Organization meeting in New York. They returned only on Monday, and we expect to get their recommendations on Thursday.

Hon. R. B. HANSON (Leader of the Opposition):

I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Fisheries in relation to the order in council, passed in August last, under which the fisheries regulations were amended in so far as they relate to the province of New Brunswick, and which provided for the banning of the export of herring between January 1 and April 15 in each year. As he is aware, the matter has been under reconsideration- if that is a proper term to use-and I was informed that a meeting was held in the United States recently-this very last week. I want to know if it has now been decided to rescind the regulation, or what the position is.

Hon. J. E. MICHAUD (Minister of Fisheries):

The matter is still under advisement. Negotiations are being carried on with the United States authorities with a view of satisfying all concerned.

Mr. HANSON (York-Sunbury):

"Satisfying all concerned"! That means that you are going to rescind it; that is the only way to satisfy them.

Mr. ANGUS MacINNIS (Vancouver East):

I wish to ask the Minister of Labour if his attention has been drawn to an advertisement which appeared in, I believe, the Windsor Star on the seventh of this month. A copy of the page has been sent, I understand, to hon. members. I am not going to read the advertisement, but I wish to draw attention to a copy of a letter which has been inserted in the advertisement, and which has been sent by the president of the Ford Motor Company of Canada to each employee of the company at Windsor. The letter has to do with the organization of the employees in the plant. It begins:

Let's discuss this organization question, man to man.

You have been approached, or will be approached, by organizers urging you to sign up with a certain union.

Everyone knows what they promise.

Then it says that this will cost the employees $150,000 a year. Further on in the letter, as it appears in the advertisement, it is stated:

The impartial services of the Department of Labour of the dominion government are avail-

Labour Conditions

able for just such a purpose. Under their supervision a committee of employees can be nominated and elected by secret ballot. This ballot would give every man a chance to express his real opinion on this question.

Has this been drawn to the minister's attention, and if it has, does he not think that it violates or contravenes paragraph 6 of order in council P.C. 2685, which states:

That employees should be free to organize in trade unions, free from any control by employers or their agents.

Hon. N. A. McLARTY (Minister of Labour):

Mr. Speaker, I did not see the

advertisement. I do not know that it is necessary for me to go into it in any great detail at the present time. The reason is this. Both employers and employees agreed that they would hold a ballot under the auspices of the Department of Labour. Those auspices have been provided. The form of the ballot has been agreed upon. I believe that every detail in connection with the vote has been agreed upon between the employers and the employees; if there is any detail outstanding it is a very small one. The vote is to take place on Thursday. I do not think that I can go further than to say that those representing the union to which the hon. member for Vancouver East has referred have expressed their complete approval of all the arrangements that have been made; and so has the company.

Mr. MacINNIS:

The minister did not answer my question. I asked him whether this did not violate or contravene P.C. 2685- interference with the employees in forming a union of their own choice.

Mr. McLARTY:

The suggestion was made by the company that a vote be taken to obtain the wish of the employees of the company as to whether or not they desired to join a particular union. The union said, "That is perfectly fair; we are willing to have a vote taken to determine whether or not the majority of the employees of this plant wish to join this union." Surely there is no violation of order in council P.C. 2685, or any other, in a mutual agreement on the part of the company and the employees, who decide that this is the fairest method of determining the wishes of the employees themselves.

Right Hon. W. L. MACKENZIE KING (Prime Minister):

Obviously I cannot give an answer at the moment, but I shall try to secure the information.